My parents have been to Livingston a few times. This was my second trip there. We love it! Livingston features some of the best fly fishing in the world, a fun eclectic small town, a beautiful drive, and some really great restaurants.
As my Mom looked for a place for all 11 of us (including the baby girls) she came across a beautiful but cheap property only 7 miles from Livingston. It looked perfect. It had a big main cabin plus a smaller duplex cabin a short distance away. We were excited to get there after seeing the beautiful pictures they had online.
The Main Cabin
The Duplex Cabin
Well, apparently not all things can be quite as perfect as they seem. The 7 miles from Livingston to the cabin were on a very rough and bumpy Forest Service Road that took about 45 minutes to drive on. Our first trip up there had us all wondering where in the world are we going?!
What was lost on the horrible road was totally made up for in the beautiful cabins and the spectacular views! We were staying on top of a mountain with Livingston valley below us and the Absaroka Beartooth mountains behind. Both cabins had hot tubs: The big cabin had one on the deck facing the Beartooth's, and the little cabin had one looking over the valley.
View of the Beartooth Mountains
Scott and Kayt in the hot tub
The scenery was breathtaking. There were fields of all kinds of wildflowers surrounding the cabin and dense forest outlined the property. In the mornings we saw deer, a moose, and quail. One evening we saw a black bear foraging in a clearing not too far away.
For our activities we went hiking, relaxed at the cabin, went into Bozeman and Livingston, and went rock-climbing. Brad asked some guys in an outdoor shop for a place to climb and we found a really fun place. Everyone made it to the top. I was extremely impressed! We had a lot of fun until a crazy windstorm came in from nowhere. Dad was climbing and he was getting blown away from the rock face! It started to rain and we heard thunder rolling, so we decided to get out of there FAST. We sent Scott and Jeff back for the cars while the rest of us struggled to gather our things, and take care of the little girls. Brad had to climb the rock again to get some gear from the top. Right when he got to the top of the cliff lightning started to flash. It was a little scary for a minute, but we all made it down safely. Everything has to be an adventure with us, I guess.
Lainy loves baby Ella
The storm was so bad that it knocked out a lot of the power in the area, including our cabin. So we got home to a dark place. It was sure fun.
We had such a great time. The little girls were so, so good on the bumpy road and while we dragged them around on our different adventures. We were a little sad to say goodbye. Thanks Mom and Dad, the Little Smith's, Jeff and Cassi! We had so much fun with you!
2 comments:
Sounds like an adventure!
Beautiful pictures! What great stories you will all have to talk about over the years. :)
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